A handful of protestors marched against U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Tuesday evening outside of The Brown Palace hotel in downtown Denver.

Protestors march against U.S. Rep John Boehner outside of the Brown Palace in Denver.

Boehner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is in town campaigning for Congressman Mike Coffman, a Republican from Aurora, at a Brown Palace fundraiser Tuesday night. Coffman faces House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, a Democrat, in November’s elections.

The protestors held posters and marched in a circle outside of the iconic Denver hotel denouncing Boehner’s support for the congressman and vice-versa.

House Speaker John Boehner will campaign in Denver Tuesday for U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora. (Pete Marovich/Bloomberg )

House Speaker John Boehner is coming to Denver Tuesday to campaign for one the GOP’s most endangered members, Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora.

Coffman faces a challenge from former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff in one of the most competitively drawn seats in the country. Tickets for the fundraiser at the Brown Palace range from $2,500 to $250.

This election cycle, Coffman is the only GOP incumbent defending a House seat that could go either way, according to top political pundits such as Charlie Cook and Stuart Rothenberg.

And the race is considered important because it has implications for 2016, which is why the GOP is pouring money into the 6th Congressional District.

Wellington Webb, Denver’s first black mayor, ripped U.S. House Republican Speaker John Boehner at the Colorado Democrats’ annual fundraiser over the weekend, saying “he has destroyed the myth of white supremacy.”

[media-credit name=”Pete Marovich/Bloomberg” align=”alignright” width=”270″][/media-credit] House Speaker John Boehnerspeaks to the media outside the West Wing of the White House last week.

Former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff also took a shot at Boehner during the event, with his faux Academy Awards presentation where he handed out “Boehners.”

You're going to need a lot of these to attend Paul Ryan's fundraisers.

UPDATE:A GOP organizer said both events for Paul Ryan, organized with three days warning, netted $1 million in donations. The original story said $3 million, which was an error.

Colorado Republicans wrote some pretty big checks tonight at fundraisers for veep hopeful Paul Ryan, who attended two events on his behalf.

About 90 people RSVP’d to attend a $2,500 a person reception at the home of Lanny and Sharon Martin, who live in one of the Denver Art Museum residences. About 40 people RSVP’d to a private, $25,000 a couple dinner at the Denver home of Michael and Amber Fries, members of the fundraising host committee.

Other members of the host committee for the Ryan fundraisers included Pete and Marilyn Coors, Diane and Charlie Gallagher, state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, Suzy and Mike Leprino, David McReynolds, John and Carol Seaman and Anna and John Sie.

Meanwhile, Denver resident Don Childers, CEO of the Colorado Banking Association, hosted a $500 per person fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, an Aurora Republican seeking his third term in the 6th Congressional District. House Speaker John Boehner attended that fundraiser.

With the help of Speaker John Boehner, Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman raised more than $800,000 at a fundraiser last week in Cherry Hills Village.

“It was a great event,” said Coffman, R-Aurora.

It’s the second time in two months that Boehner has flown to Colorado to help raise money for Republican congressional candidates.

Friday’s event was held at the home of Charlie and Diane Gallagher. The $844,000 that was raised will help the National Republican Congressional Committee elect GOP candidates to Congress, Coffman said.

“I figured since I don’t know where my district is I might as well raise money to help other Republicans running for Congress,” Coffman said in an e-mail. “I will turn my attention to raising money for my own campaign as soon as I know where my district lines are.”

WASHINGTON — School reforms that encourage the expansion of charter schools pushed by Rep. Jared Polis passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday — a victory for Polis, who isn’t on the education committee anymore and is in the minority party.

The House-passed bill reauthorizes three exisiting federal laws that provide new charter school start-up grants. In exchange for that, the law requires charter schools have strong financial plans and audit requirements and it conditions charter school growth be tied to student outcomes.

“This bill will take the very best practices of America’s charter schools and bring them to additional communities across America,” said Polis, a Democrat from Boulder, who started his own charter school several years ago as well as served on the Colorado State Board of Education.

GOP House Speaker John Boehner also praised the plan saying in a statement that, “the American dream for future generations begins with ensuring our children have acces to a high quality education.”

The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, where its fate is unclear because it’s just one piece of the gigantic overhaul of No Child Left Behind. That legislation has been stalled all year on the Senate side.

UPDATE 5:45 p.m. | Reflects that two Democratic Senators have signed on.
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Sen. Mark Udall. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mark Udall is urging Republicans and Democrats to sit together during the State of the Union address Jan. 25 in an attempt to end “an arrangement has become a negative symbol of the divisions in Congress.”

Usually, Republicans and Democrats sit on different sides of the chamber when the President delivers his remarks.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Udall is urging the parties to mix it up in a couple weeks to show they don’t hate each other.

The following is a copy of Udall’s letter, which he has encouraged his fellow Senators of both parties to co-sign. So far, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., have signed on, his office said.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.